Proof press paper gripper



Feb. 3, 1953 BARNEY 2,627,226

PROOF PRESS PAPER GRIPPER Filed Dec. 15, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 w FREEMAN BARNEY i BYJW ATTORNEY-S Feb. 3, 1953 BARNEY 2,627,226

PROOF PRESS PAPER GRIPPER Filed Dec. 15, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FREEMAN BARNEY Aw-voansw's Feb. 3, 1953 F. BARNEY 2,627,226

PROOF PRESS PAPER GRIPPER Filed Dec. 13. 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 60 \uvem'oz 63/ 7/ 6/ FREEMAN BARN Y A-r'rosanzvs Patented Feb. 3, 1953 PRAGOF PRESS PAPER GRIPPER Freeman Barney, Spring Lake, Mich., assignor to The Challenge Machinery Company, Grand Haven, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application December 13, 1948, Serial No. 64,934

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in connection with the paper grippers of proof printing presses.

Printing presses for printing proof sheets, which may be examined for errors and the correction of them before final printing takes place, are used in many printing establishments and particularly for newspapers. The printing of the proof sheets is by gripping an edge of the sheet on a horizontally mounted rotatable printing drum, rotating the drum usually by manual operation, and connecting the drum with a horizontally movable bed upon which the printing form is carried, the bed being movable underneath the rotating drum so that the imprint of inked type is made on the paper sheet. The drum is rotated reversely after the printing has taken place so as to return the bed to the position which it initially occupied, ready for the printing of a succeeding proof sheet.

The present invention is directed to novel improvements in gripping mechanism used with the printing cylinder or platen. An edge of a sheet of paper is brought to and located at a preselected position on the cylinder and the sheet gripped at such edge. Such gripping means, carried in the present invention is automatically made inoperative when the bed reaches its innermost position and with the cylinder positioned so that the grippers, which immediately grasp the paper, are in inoperative position. They are automatically rendered operable to grip the paper approximately as soon as the succeeding printing operation starts. Furthermore, with my invention when, by reversing the turning movement of the printing cylinder, the bed is moved outwardly for a succeeding printing operation, the gripping mechanism which has been in its gripping position during such outward movement of the bed is automatically operated as the bed approaches its extreme outer position to release the grippers for the insertion of the edge of a sheet of paper, and thereafter quickly again made operative to grip the edge of the paper sheet. Thereupon the paper sheet, upon which the proof imprint is to be made, is ready to follow the printing cylinder upon reversing its movement for the succeeding printing operation.

A further feature of the invention and one of the objects to be attained thereby is concerned with novel locating stop means for the gripped edge of the sheet of paper, for properly locating it that it shall evenly wrap around the cylinder and not have its side edges disposed at an angle to the straight line of travel of the form carrying bed. A plurality of such stops are mounted on 2 the cylinder and each is independently adjustable to insure the proper edge position of the proof sheet to be printed, when it is connected by the gripping mechanism of my invention to the cylinder.

Other objects and purposes than those stated will be apparent and understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a proof printing press having my invention incorporated therein.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation with parts of the printing cylinder broken away and shown in section, for better disclosure of structure.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section substantially 0n the plane of line 33 of Fig. 2, looking downwardly.

Fig. 4. is a like view showing the mechanism in another position when the gripping mechanism is momentarily released at the approach of the form carrying bed to its outer position.

Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 4 with the parts in a still further position or that occupied by them when the form carrying bed has reached its outermost position, and the gripping mechanism returned to sheet gripping position.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the printing cylinder substantially on the plane of line 66 of Fig. 2, and,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section substantially on the plane of line 1--1 of Fig. 2, showing the structure of the adjustable paper edge stops.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

In the construction of the proof press, a supporting structure is provided, including the horizontal table I supported at a desired height by ends 2 and with lower horizontal frame bars 3 between the ends. Substantially centrally of the table and at each side thereof a pair of spaced vertical guides 4 are permanently secured connected with the table I at their lower ends and extending above such stable. A cross bar 5 may extend between and connect to each pair of guides 4 at their upper ends. At what may be termed the rear end portion of the table, vertically positioned side supports 6 are located, extending upwardly a distance and carrying a generally horizontal feed table 1 on which a sheet of paper to be proof printed is located to be fed to the printing cylinder. r

A journal 8 is slidably mounted between th guides 4 of each pair of guides. Each journal, through a vertical rod 9 pivotally connected to its lower end, is connected to an eccentric housing Ill around an eccentric H. The two eccentrics ll,

one at each side of the machine, are carried on a horizontal shaft which may be rocked to raise and lower the journals 3 and the printing cylinder which is carried by them. Such cylinder raising and lowering mechanism forms no part of the present invention.

The printing cylinder includes a hollow cylindrical outer shell l2 with vertical ends 113 closing the shell. A gear H3 is permanently fastened at one end of the cylinder. A tubular shaft i5 passes axially through the cylinder and beyond each of the ends l3 and gear M, passing through the journals 8 in which the shaft is rotatably mounted. The cylinder secured to the shaft is turned by a crank is fastened to one end of the shaft as shown in Fig. 2.

A red ill is slidably mounted lengthwise and within the shaft it. At one end, that nearest the crank it, it terminates short of the adjacent end of the tubular shaft to and between it and a plug threaded into such end of the shaft iii a coiled compression spring is is located, which acts to move the rod ll lengthwise of the shaft E5 to the right (Fig. 2), or what in practice will be to the rear side of the machine, the crank l6 being at the front side. Such shaft ll extends beyond the rear end of the tubular shaft 55, as shown in Fig. 2. The rod H at spaced intervals in its length, is grooved with continuous annular grooves around it reducing the diameter of the rod l! at the bottoms of the groves as at E8 and with conical surfaces ft from the bottoms of the grooves to the periphery of the rod, extending from the groove bottoms toward the back of the machine.

The cylinder shell H2 at one side, and between the ends i3 has a segment removed for its length leaving a relatively wide opening 2i as shown in Fig. 6. A bar 22 extends between the ends it adjacent the opening, to which one end of a covering member 23 or tympan is secured, leading therefrom around the outer side of the cylinder shell lE to the other edge of the opening at El and turned inwardly therein. It is clamped in place by the outer bar 24 of the gripping mechanism about to be described, which bar is located lengthwise of the opening 25 at said opposite longitudinal edge thereof, its outer surface being substantially flush with the adjacent outer surface of the cylinder E2.

The gripping mechanism, in addition to the outer bar 2d, includes a second and inner bar 25 parallel to the outer bar, the two bars being integrally connected together by spaced connecting legs 23 between them. A plurality of radially disposed rods 25, spaced from each other, pass freely through alined openings in the bars 1 and 25 and at their inner ends through openings made in the hollow shaft l5. The inner ends of the rod 23 are adapted to enter the grooves in the rod ll. Gripper heads as having fiat under surfaces are at the outer ends of rods 28 and normally, when free to do so, will bear against the outer side of the bar 2 under the influence of compression springs at around the rods. It is between the undersides of the grip ping heads 29 and the outer side of the bar 2% that the edge of the sheet to be printed is gripped. Such gripping will occur whenever the inner ends of the rods 28 are at the bottoms of the annular grooves in the rod ll. But on movement of the rod ll (Fig. 2) to the left, the inner ends of the radial rods 28 ride upon the conical surfaces 2%, which act as cams to force said rods 28 and their heads 29 outwardly and separate the inner sides b of the heads 29 from the bar 2 This frame which carries the grippers is secured to the cylinder by headed set screws 27 passing through the legs 2t and screwed into thickened inner portions of the drum shell I! as shown in Fig. 6.

The upper bar 2% has a plurality of spaced adjustable stops thereon. The bar 2 2 at places where said stops are located (Fig. 7) is drilled through from one side to the other and a pin or rod 35 secured in each of the drilled openings and extend beyond the bar 2% into the opening at ii of the cylinder. The stop members 32, of a generally L-shape, each has an upper leg extending over bar 2 and a leg at right angles extending at the inner side of said bar 2 5. A coiled spring 33 around each pin 3! is between said bar 24 each stop, the bar and stop being recessed for receiving the ends of the spring. Each rod Si is threaded at its free end portion to receive a nut as by means of which the stop may be adjusted so that the free ends of the upper legs over the bar 2:": are presented toward the feed table a, and provide stops against which the edge of a paper sheet which is to be printed ser es in moving said paper at said edge porti is under the gripping heads 23 which, at the time, are lifted above the upper surface of the bar -t is evident that with the plurality of stops each independently adjustable the proper location of a paper sheet which is to be printed may be obtained.

An elongated form holding bed 35 is located over the table it, and is mounted to move back and forth thereon underneath the cylinder. At one side a bar the length of the bed is secured, the teeth at its upper edge being in mesh with the gear it. Between the upwardly extending flanges at the side of the bed (F'g. 2) the form made up of type, cuts and the like is secured; and of course an inking mechanism, not shown in the present application, is located at the front of the cylinder over the bed for inking the type. With reference to Fig. 1, the movable bed is substantially at its middle position. With continued turning of the cylinder counter-clockwise, as indicated by the arrow, the bed removed to the right and the bracket 33 at the outer end of the bed, and which in practice is permanently secured at the outer side of the rack bar 33, is brought to a mechanism for operating the grippers when it reaches such mechanisnl nearly at the end of the inward lon itudinal movement of the bed during which printing takes place. The bracket 3? (Fig. 3) has an inclined edge extending from one end outwardly as indicated at 33, joining with a shorter edge 39 which parallels the length of the bed and attached rack 3%.

Near the opposite end of the raci: at the same outer side thereof, a finger it is pivotally mounted between its ends on a fixed support It has an outer edge 32 which in the position shown at Fig. 3 is inclined to the length of the rack 35, and at its rear end a shorter edge parallel It may be held to the rack 35. position shown in Fig. 3' by a movable K6 L therefor which, substantially cha 4 and 5), is slidably mounted fc 1611i; on a fixed blocl: 45 conn cted with the rack. It is held in its keeper position normally by a compression spring which moves it in a forward direction and when in such position is in the path of movement of the adjacent free end of the finger it. But when moved against spring 46 to the position shown in Fig. 5,

it is out of the path of movement of the adjacent end of the finger 40 which may then be turned about its pivot to the position in Fig. 5. A bar 41 is secured to the back guide 4 of the pair of vertical guides at the rear side of the machine and at the inner side of said guide, at one end having a laterally turned ear or lug 43 which is in the path of movement of the keeper 44 when the bed is moved substantially to its outermost position, to the left in Fig, 1, the downwardly extending projection shown on the keeper 44 coming against the lug 48, whereupon keeper 44 is moved from the position in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 5.

Spaced supporting brackets 49 are connected at the outer side of the rear vertical guides 4. Between their upper and lower ends a horizontal sleeve 59 is mounted for rocking movement on a rod extending between the brackets 49. An arm 5| at the middle of the sleeve 59 extends upwardly to bear against the adjacent rear end of the gripper actuating rod 11. Two other arms 52 one at each side of the arm 5| extend outwardly from the sleeve 50. A vertical bar 53, slotted at its upper end, engages a pin at the outer end of one of the arms 52. The bar 53 extends downwardly and has a pivotal connection at its lower end to a foot operated lever 54 pivotally mounted at 55 between its ends on the rear lower frame bar 3. Foot lever 54 extends to the front of the machine and at its front end has a foot pedal 56 which when it is pushed upon by foot pressure forces the arm 5| against the rear projecting end of the gripper actuating rod 1'! moving it to compress spring I3 (Fig. 2), and

lifting the gripper rods 28 and their heads 29 as the inclined conical surfaces 29 ride underneath the inner ends of the rods 28.

A second horizontal sleeve 5'! is similarly mounted on and extends between the lower ends of brackets 49, spaced fro-m and below sleeve 50. It has an arm 58 extending outwardly from it directly below the other upper arm 52. A link 59 is pivotally connected to said arm 52 at its upper end, and is slotted at its lower end to engage with a pin passing through the outer end portion of arm 58. Rocking the sleeve 51 in the same direction as sleeve 50 is rocked by the upward vertical movement of bar 53, causes the same longitudinal movement of the gripper actuating bar I! with the same results taking place.

A second arm 60 is connected to the lower sleeve 5'! and extends downwardly therefrom. A short rod BI is mounted for horizontal sliding movement through a bracket support 62 therefor secured at the outer side of the front guide 4 of the back pair of guides. It has a pivotal connection with the arm 59 at its outer end. At its inner end it is provided with a roller 63 which, when the rod 6| occupies its normal position, is engaged by the inclined edge 33 of bracket 31 when the bed 35 approaches its rear or innermost position of movement. That is, when the cylinder 12 has been turned counter-clockwise (Fig. 1) upon bracket 31 reaching the roller 63 on rod 62!, the roller rides the inclined edge at 38 and rod 6! is moved outwardly until the shorter edge 39 is reached by such roller. Such edge at 39 is reached at the final completion of the rear movement of the bed. On stopping the turning of the drum, which will occur through appropriate stop means therefor, at such position rod 6| is held as shown in Fig. 3-, and the gripping heads 23 are held in the upper positions to which they have been moved, with their lower sides spaced from the upper side of the cooperating gripping bar 24 between which heads and bar the paper sheet has been gripped.

Similarly when the bed 35 is moved outwardly on reverse turning movement of the cylinder, the finger 42 comes to the roller 33 (Fig. 4) which rides the inclined edge 42, moving the rod 61 to the rear, with a release or elevation of the gripping heads 29. But when the bed 35 reaches its outermost position in which the roller 63 will have been moved to the edge 43 on finger 49 (Fig. 5), lug 43 moves the keeper 44 which has been in the path of movement of the end of finger 49 to the position shown in Fig. 5, releasing the finger, whereupon under the force of spring [3 the rod 6| will move the finger 42 to the position shown in Fig. 5 and the gripping heads 29 of rods 23 will return to their gripping position.

In the operation, with the bed 35 and attached rack 36 at outermost position, the edge of a paper sheet at the upper side of the feed table '1 is gripped by the gripping heads 29 against bar 24, which at such position of the cylinder and table is located at the upper side of the cylinder substantially as in Fig. 6. Turning the crank IE to rotate the cylinder clockwise (Fig. 6) causes the paper sheet to follow the cylinder and wrap against it. On reaching the form carried by the bed after a partial revolution of the cylinder, the printing begins and continues until the outer end of the form has been reached and passed by. Upon continuing the rotation, the bracket at 31 reaches the roller 53 on rod 6! riding the inclined edge 39 to release the gripper heads 29 which are approximately under the feed table i. At the same time, as shown in a copending application filed by me of even date, Ser. No. 64,933, the cylinder is lifted bodily a short distance. Thus on reverse movement of the cylinder, by turning the crank 13 in the opposite direction, no pressing of the cylinder against the type if the sheet has been removed occurs, and the proof sheet with the printing thereon may be removed as it has been released from all connection to the cylinder and is not pressed by the cylinder against the type. form.

As soon as the reverse turning movement of the cylinder has taken place for a short time, so that the bracket 3? has moved away from the roller 63 which it has engaged, the gripping heads 29 are returned to initial position to press against the outer side of the bar 24. As the bed 35 approaches its outer position, roller 63 is engaged by the inclined edge 42 of the finger to which is held in a fixed position by the keeper at 44. "This moves the gripping heads 29 outwardly to space their, under flat sides from the adjacent side of bar 24, at a position in which said bar 24 is ahead of the position shown in Fig. 6, or to the right thereof, a short distance. The succeeding paper sheet on the table 1 has been moved at its edge portion where it is to be gripped farther than it will be located when the gripping takes place. Thereupon, when the cylinder #2 has been returned fully to its initial position, shown in Fig. 6 and the bed 35 is at its outermost position, the free edge of the paper sheet will have been reached by the locating stops 32 and the edge of the paper comes underneath the raised gripping head 29. The paper sheet may be moved back by the moving stop 32. Such edge of the paper will be properly positioned such that at the full completion of the reverse turning movement of the cylinder. and the disengaging movement of the keeper 44, from. the position'in Fig. 4 to that in Fig. caused, as previously described, by the lug 38 engaging with the keeper, as in Fig. 5, the automatic return of the gripping heads to their operative position grips the succeeding sheet which is to be printed with it properly positioned and located with reference to the cylinder.

A foot operated release of the gripping heads as may be had at any time by pressing downward on the foot pedal 56. This may be needed at times in the operation of the proof press; or it may occur in connection with short proof sheets.

The structure described is very practical and useful and is Very satisfactory in practical use. The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all form of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a structure as described, a horizontal cylinder, a hollow shaft extending therethrough, supports for said shaft in which the shaft is rotatably mounted, a horizontal bed located underneath the cylinder, a horizontal table supporting said bed and over which it is longitudinally movable, means for moving the bed back and forth, on rotation of the cylinder in opposite directions, a rod axially located within said hollow shaft, said rod at one end extending beyond the adjacent end of the shaft, brackets supported by said table in fixed position, one at each side of the projecting end of said shaft carried rod, a bell crank lever structure mounted on said bracket having an arm engaging against the adjacent end of said rod, said rod within the shaft having a plurality of angular grooves therearound, one side of each groove being of conical form, a g ipping bar secured to said cylinder longitudinally and at one side thereof having its outer surface substantially flush with the surface of said cylinder, a plurality of headed rods spaced from each other passing radially of the cylinder through said bar and through a side of said hollow shaft, their inner ends being received in the grooves of said rod within the shaft, each of said rods at its outer end having a head with a flat under-surface, a spring on each rod yieldingly moving said rod radially inward, means for moving said bell crank lever in a direction to move said rod within the shaft longitudinally, to cause the conical sides of the grooves to engage the inner ends of said radially disposed rods and move them outwardly against their, springs, and projecting means carried adjacent each end of said bed at one side thereof, combined with means located in the path of movement of said projecting means on the bed for turning said bell crank lever to move said axially disposed rod lengthwise of said hollow shaft when said bed has moved longitudinally to its innermost position and has moved toward but a short distance short of its outermost position.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, said means for actuating said bell crank lever, comprising a horizontal slidably movable rod connected at its other end with the other arm of said bell crank lever, and at its inner end located in the path of movement of said projecting members carried by the bed, each of said pr jecting members having inclined outer edges engaging with the inner end of said slidably mounted rod to move said rod outwardly by cam action when said projecting members reach the inner end of said rod and move with said bed by the rod.

3. A proof printing press comprising, a horizontal rotatable cylinder, a paper gripper at the periphery of the cylinder, a horizontal type bed mounted for reciprocation under the cylinder, means for positively reciprocating said bed in either direction upon rotation of said cylinder,

bed having a printing movement and a return movement, a movable member acting to release said paper gripper, a cam member on said bed engagcable with said movable member and acting to release the paper gripper at the end of the printing movement, a second cam member movably mounted on the bed and engageable with said movable member near the end of the return movement acting to release said paper gripper, a keeper movably mounted on said bed and engageable with said second cam member and normally holding the second cam member in camming position, and a fixed member engageable with said keeper at the end of the return stroke of the bed acting to move said kee er out of engagement with the second cam member thereby releasing said paper gripper for regripping movement, said movable member acting upon sai second cam member at the beginning of the printing movement to retur it to camlllllg position.

l. In a proof printing press having a rotatable horizontally mounted cylinder, a horizontal form bed movably mounted for reciprocation under said cylinder means for saving said bed upon rotation of the cylinder, and paper gripr eans lengthwise and at one side of the having a fixed bar the peiphery of the cylinder and radially movable rods v 'th gripping heads at their outer ends for ripp" between heads and the outer side or the bar, longitudinally movable member extending lengthwise axially of said cylinder and beyond it at one end, longitudinal movem nt of which in one direction moves said ngheads outwardly from the bar, movable means mounted against said projecting end of said axial member, operation of which one d'lection moves said inemo to lift the gripping heads, a can mom. or see near the outer end and at one side of the bed, projecting ther and movable therewith engageable with ;al 1 last mentioned means on movement of the nerrno-st position, acting to release paper gripped by said gri and a secon" cam member movably mounted on said bed near the opposite end thereof, engageable with said axial morn ier to lift said gripping heads on outward moveriient of the bed. z-iear short of extreme outward po"'tion, keeper means for holding said second movable member against movement, means on said bed acting to move said keeper means out of operative relation to said second cam member to lease it for movement for retiijr of the 7 heads to gripping posit on against said bar on completion of outward movement of bed substantially to extreme outward position.

M BARNEY.

CES {JXTEKB The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 411,841 Gordon Mar. 8, 1884 116,616 hiiauger July 4, 1871. 432,518 Dodge July 22, 1895 18,338 Barnett Apr. 17, 1906 1,664,700 Nayer Apr. 1922 1,741,848 Kelly wDeo. e1, 1929 

